The digitization of imaging medicine has resulted in a multiplicity of different digital terminal devices from different manufacturers being employed today in contemporary radiological image processing systems. Moreover these devices are required to exchange data with one another. The DICOM standard, currently acknowledged as the most important standard in radiology, was developed back in 1993 in order to enable these devices to interact in a standardized manner. The DICOM standard is patterned after the ISO-OSI reference model and supports communication in heterogeneous systems. At the same time the DICOM standard also guarantees the exchange of data (this is referred to as connectivity). However, the DICOM standard has no influence on the applications which use the data that is to be transmitted. Essentially, a terminal device can process and use the data only if it is possible also to transfer the data to the device. This is referred to as interoperability. A prerequisite for interoperability therefore is that all the devices connected to the network (or DICOM nodes) are capable of exchanging data.
Owing to the multiplicity of devices requiring to be deployed (for example MR scanners, post-processing systems, monitors, antennas for transmitting the signals of the MR device, etc.) and due to the fact that the terminal devices come from different manufacturers that develop the respective devices and on account of the different communication functionalities of the devices, provision is made to provide in advance at a preliminary stage what is referred to as a declaration of conformity (conformance statement). The conformance statement is usually drafted by the manufacturer and serves to specify which DICOM functions (in particular which DICOM services and options) are supported by the respective device.
It has hitherto proved disadvantageous in the prior art that the conformance statements are only completed in a rudimentary manner and in some cases are provided in such an unsatisfactory manner that no connectivity analysis is possible. If a new DICOM network is to be built or an existing one modified or extended, a (new) DICOM device must be integrated into the DICOM network. Depending on its function this DICOM device engages in data interchange with other DICOM devices. To enable this data interchange to be performed without error, it is necessary to verify in advance whether the respective devices are interoperable. This situation can be explained in a simplified exemplary manner with reference to the following example: If an MR scanner is to forward its acquired data to a post-processing module, it is necessary to verify as a preliminary step whether the post-processing module can actually receive the data provided by the MR scanner in the respective format and, for example, whether the data communication envisaged between the two devices has sufficient capacity. In order to be able to prevent an error due to defective connectivity between the participating DICOM nodes in the actual application case, a connectivity analysis must be carried out at a preliminary stage. Disadvantageously, this has not been possible in the past due to the inadequacy of the conformance statements provided.